Caught on Tape: Suspect Steals Police Car, Crashes Into Truck

Summerville, SC (WLTX) - Summerville police say a shoplifting suspect withstood being tasered, stole a police officer's car, and eventually crashed that vehicle into a truck--and the incident was caught on camera.

The crime took place on Friday, May 13.

Officers say the sequence of events began when the suspect, identified as 38-year-old Arthur Lee Thompson Jr., attempted to steal a computer from Walmart. Officers say he left the store without paying. A store employee confronted the man, and officers say Thompson hit the employee in the face, left the computer, and drove away in a Jeep.

Officers eventually pulled the vehicle over, and it was at that point that police say the crime took another violent twist. Police say the suspect got out of the vehicle, and refused to follow the officer's commands to surrender; in fact, according to an incident report, the man began throwing punches at the officer, landing at least one.

The deputy responded by hitting the suspect with his taser, but it had no affect.

Another driver stopped to help the officer, who police say was attacked a second time by Thompson. The incident report says the suspect got into the officer's vehicle. The other driver and the officer attempted to stop him from getting away, even slamming his car door on Thompson's leg, but the suspect was able to speed off.

The tape shows the officer's car going down the road at a high rate of speed, weaving in and out of traffic to avoid other drivers. Eventually, it turns down a road where it collides with what appears to be a flatbed truck carrying a tractor.

All of this pursuit is recorded by the vehicle's dash cam.

The video continues as Thompson breaks out a window of the car, and is taken into custody by officers. He was then taken to the Medical University of South Carolina for treatment.

According to an incident report, Thompson tested positive for the presence of cocaine based in his blood and urine. The report states that he told officers that he had 'smoked crack' earlier in the day and was high. He also reportedly asked if he had 'made the news.'